1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a strobe arrangement for use with Polaroid SX-70 type Land Cameras and more particularly to a strobe arrangement which is both powered and triggered from an SX-70 type camera upon attachment thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera, made and sold by the Polaroid Corporation of Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., is adapted to make photographs automatically either by ambient light or with the aid of a flash lamp array. For this purpose, the camera is provided with an accessory socket in the shutter and lens board housing which will accept a part from a flash lamp array. The flash lamp array includes five flash lamps in one array and five in another so that five sequential exposures can be made, each with a different bulb, when the array is inserted in the socket in either position. The remaining five lamps can be sequentially used by removing the flash array, and putting it back in facing the opposite direction.
The camera is provided with a sequencing circuit to select the next unfired bulb for energization, and to sequence the camera circuits which operate the shutter, control the mirror and operate the processing rolls.
It would be highly desirable to extend the capabilities of the Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera, and other cameras such as the new Polaroid Pronto Camera, for use with electronic flash. One type of strobe suitable for use with Polaroid's SX-70 Land Cameras as disclosed in a U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,532 entitled "Flash Attachment for Self Developing Collapsible Cameras", issued Mar. 9, 1976 teaches the use of a flash lamp attachment having a flash tube and reflector assembly connected to a separate power pack unit which is removable from the camera body. The power required for igniting the flash lamp is provided by a separate disposable battery contained within a large auxiliary power pack unit that releasably attaches to the bottom of the SX-70 camera. However, such an auxiliary power pack unit is bulky and heavy and not particularly compatible with the SX-70 camera's compact design features.
Thus it is a primary object of this invention to provide a compact strobe arrangement for use with Polaroid's SX-70 Land type cameras wherein the strobe receives both a trigger pulse signal and a charging current directly from the camera furnished by way of the SX-70 film pack battery.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a compact strobe adapted for connection to conventional SX-70 Land Cameras so as to receive both a charging current and a trigger signal from the SX-70 camera without requiring modification to the camera.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. The invention accordingly comprises the mechanism and system possessing the construction, the combination of elements and arrangement of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure.